2007-06-11

Peace Jirga

Pakistan and Afghanistan reiterate their commitment to put up a joint front against the terrorists in the region during the Estranged South Asian Neighbors conference in Kabul. Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Pakistani prime minister Shaukat on Tuesday urged working together against the insurgents and terrorists along their common border. Addressing a joint news conference, both leaders expressed confidence towards the Peace Jirga slated to meet in the last week of June or early August in Kabul. Last week the Peace Jirga delegation from the Afghan side met President Musharaf in Islamabad and voiced maximum interest in a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. Both the Afghan and Pakistani delegation have agreed that the joint Afghan/Pakistani Jirga should be held after two months in Kabul and they are now busy with working on the Jirga agenda.

There are two main issues that need to be solved before the Jirga starts. According to members of the Afghan delegation, the Pakistani side rejects the participation of the women and 3rd party to monitor the Jirga, saying we can settle issues overselves, which is not true, because Pakistan reneged its commitments many times, so the participation of the 3rd party is very important. In the presence of international community, it will be hard for Pakistan to break its commitments in the future. However, the Pakistani prime minister expresses that they will try to resolve the two issues in the next meeting of the delegations. Most Afghan people think that this Jirga will not be very useful so therefore we are hoping that the Pakistani side will agree on the participation of the 3rd party.

There is another main issue which needs to be solved and that is the porous British era frontier which is called the Durand Line and it was given to the Indian government under a 100 year contract, which has now expired, and this issue needs to be solved before the Pakistan government creates obstacles along the joint border. Why should Pakistan create obstacles if Pakistan knows that the Durand Line contract has expired and it is smart to build a wall and split our own lands from our country. According to the Afghan tribal leaders living along the border the Pakistani army has moved their check point a few kilometers inside Afghanistan territory during the Taliban regime. This issue must be solved then Pakistan could think about building up a wall along the border.

Pakistan claims to have 90,000 troops along the Pakistan/Afghan border, which is enough force to fight the insurgents if they patrol the area constantly and honestly. Then there will be no need of barbed wire or a wall to separate the two nation and split the areas which has been unresolved. We are hoping that the Pakistan government will accept the participation of women from both countries as well as the participation of the 3rd country. If Pakistan agrees to these two main issues then this Peace Jirga will be successful and it will solve many issues including the terrorist influence along the Pakistani/Afghan border.